C.A. Milson's Blog, page 200
December 10, 2015
Book Excerpt – Maelstrom
About the Book
Title: Maelstrom
Author: Francis Guenette
Genre: Action / Thriller
A shot is fired into the still night air and a young woman dies on Suicide Ridge. A dangerous game has begun. Over the course of one blistering, hot week, winds of change sweep through an isolated valley in small town America.
Sheriff Bert Calder, with the help of Mayor Amos Thatcher, has held the town of Haddon under his thumb for twenty-five years. As things spin out of control, Calder works the angles, ensuring he can make the most of the upheaval that is to come.
Rafael Destino, facing his own mortality, races against time to gain control of the railroad – a lifeline essential to the town’s survival. His goal – to financially destroy Thatcher, the man he believes responsible for the death of his beloved sister. His tool – adopted son Myhetta. But how far down the road of revenge will Rafael push the young man who owes him everything?
Myhetta is poised on the edge of controlling Destino Enterprises, the job he has been groomed for. While money, power and influence are his to command, the past continues to torment him.
In a clash of powerful men, with fathers pitted against sons, no one will be left unscathed. Maelstrom is a page turner that speeds along like a runaway train.
Author Bio
Francis Guenette has spent all of her life on the west coast of British Columbia. She lives with her husband and finds inspiration for writing in the beauty and drama of their off-grid, lakeshore cabin and garden. She has a graduate degree in Counselling Psychology. She has worked as an educator, trauma counsellor and researcher. She is the author of three books in the Crater Lake Series. Maelstrom is her fourth novel.
Links
Blog: http://disappearinginplainsight.com
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/francisguenetteauthor/377139735716267
Twitter – https://twitter.com/FrancisGuenette
Book Excerpt
The heat of the past day hung heavily over Suicide Ridge. A rifle shot shattered the still night air. The young woman walking across the gravel pullout took the shot in her back; the bullet smashed through her body, winged out and kissed the air alongside the arm of the man she had been waiting to meet.
The dead weight of her crashed into him and Myhetta fell to his knees. He searched the darkness in the direction of the shot. Blood pumped from the exit wound in the woman’s chest. The headlights of her car, parked against the battered barrier near the drop-off to the river below, blinded him as the sound of gravel crunching underfoot came closer. Polished, brown boots appeared. A rifle casually smacked against a leg. The wide brimmed sheriff’s hat obscured the eyes but the moonlight caught the silver line of a scar as a voice drawled, “You move along now, Breed. No need for you to hang around.”
Myhetta rose and whistled as he drew out the knife tucked at his back. Two timber wolves loped out of the trees and flanked him. Lips pulled back to reveal yellow fangs as the animals snarled.
The sheriff raised the rifle at his side and took aim at the wolf to Myhetta’s right. “Get going or one of your precious pets dies.”
Sheriff Bert Calder did not make idle threats. As Myhetta backed up a step, hate smouldered in his dark eyes. He kept the animals close to his side with a gesture of his hand as he walked away into the trees. His horse was grazing on the scrubgrass that grew under the tall pines. Swinging his body into the saddle, he urged Black along the trail. He wound his way up the switchback and stopped at a point where he could look down to the dirt pullout on the corner of the stretch of road known as Suicide Ridge. His tall form was outlined in the light of the full moon.
The sheriff returned from the police cruiser parked in the nearby trees with a jerry can in his hand. He had already loaded the body into the driver’s side of the car. He doused the vehicle with gasoline. Reaching inside, he shoved the battered Volkswagen into gear and rolled it forward. He stepped back, lit a match, flicked it into the car and raised his boot to nudge the bumper. The car clunked down the rough, rock face of the ridge. All was dark for a moment then a whoosh of fire lit the night sky.
Filed under: Guest Authors Tagged: #FrancisGuenette, Enchanted book promotions, Francis Guenette, Maelstrom
Release Blitz – The Phoenix Project
About the Book
Title: The Phoenix Project
Author: D.M. Cain
Genre: Psychological Thriller
A thought provoking and compelling dystopian world that will change the way you view justice…
A man fights for life—and redemption—in D. M. Cain’s riveting new novel, The Phoenix Project.
Britain has descended into chaos as violence and terrorist attacks seethe across this once-peaceful country. Outraged by the steady stream of lawlessness, citizens demand a harsher penal system, and the Phoenix Project is born.
In prisons across the country, inmates fight to the death in a weekly bloodbath while the nation cheers them on.
Raven Kennedy, a prisoner who has never forgiven himself for his unspeakable crime, struggles against his own guilt and self-loathing. But even as the real war wages on within himself, Raven is forced to battle some of the prison’s most ruthless killing machines. Can he survive long enough to unravel the anger and regret that shackle him—and one day find the forgiveness he seeks?
‘The Phoenix Project by D.M. Cain is a superbly written debut, soaked in tension and intrigue,’ Jack Croxall, author of the ‘Tethers’ trilogy.
Author Bio
D.M. Cain is a dystopian and fantasy author working for US publisher Booktrope. She has released three novels: The Phoenix Project – a psychological thriller set in a dystopian future, Soren – a middle-grade fantasy, and A Chronicle of Chaos – the first in a dark fantasy series. She is currently working on the next novel in the series, ‘The Shield of Soren’, and a novella to accompany it.
D.M. Cain is also a member of the International Thriller Writers and is one of the creators and administrators of the online author group #Awethors. Her short story ‘The End’ was published in Awethology Dark – an anthology by the #Awethors.
Cain lives in Leicestershire, UK, with her husband and young son, and spends her time reading, writing and reviewing books, playing RPGs and listening to symphonic metal.
Links
Website: http://dmcain84.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dmcain84
Twitter: @DMCain84
Buy on Amazon
Filed under: Release Blitz Tagged: #Awethors, @DMCain84, D. M. Cain, Enchanted book promotions, Psychological thriller, The Phoenix Project
Cover Reveal – Storm Surge by Celia Ashley
Title: Storm Surge
Author: Celia Ashley
Publisher: Lyrical Press
Publication Date: May 10, 2016
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Format: Ebook
Named after a goddess who turns her lovers to stone, an insular New England coastal town holds more secrets than it can keep…
Torn from her hometown and her father as a child, Paige Waters’ last memory of both is fraught with mystery and confusion. Now, sixteen years later, with both her parents gone, Paige returns to Alcina Cove, certain there is more to the painful story than she’s been led to believe. The answers must lie within the community, buffered from the larger world by the sea; but when she finds the townspeople more reticent than ever, her only hope is the intriguing man who lives in her childhood home–if she can break down his reserve…
A fisherman turned writer, Liam Gray is haunted by secrets of his own, some of which are deeply entangled with the closure Paige seeks. But as he and Paige grow intimate, their attraction building, Liam finds himself torn between truth and betrayal. Whichever he chooses will risk his future with Paige and cause someone pain–until an even greater danger leaves him no choice…
Praise for Celia Ashley’s Dark Tides
“A darkly seductive tale filled with unpredictable twists and turns. . .A smoothly written and creatively detailed thrill ride.” –Affaire de Coeur, 4 Stars and Reviewer’s Pick
“A top-notch tale filled with danger and mystery, all wrapped around a spicy romance.” –Romance Reviews Today
“An incredible riveting story, Dark Tides takes the reader on a turbulent ride of intense emotions blended with suspenseful mystery.” –Romance at Heart
As an author of contemporary paranormal romance, I am a sucker for a tortured soul. If all of my characters were as happy as clams, we’d find them pretty boring, wouldn’t we? The big payoff for all that angst, however, is finding true love. Whether writing about ghosts, heroines with psychic powers, stalkers or a community of others, every tale is filled with suspense and danger, all wrapped up in a spicy romance.
Many readers ask me how I started writing and I can only say it began with a love of reading. I wrote my first book at age seven–a thirty page story about a girl and her horse, complete with illustrations, entitled Windy Day. I can’t remember now if Windy Day was the name of the horse or the prevalent weather condition but, suffice it to say, my yearning to be a writer began at that time. I spent the rest of my childhood (and continue to this day) reading a book the first time for pleasure and each time thereafter with an eye to nuance of phrasing, description,
pacing, flow: everything that originally drew me in and enamored me. I am, in that sense, self-taught at my craft, although I love the inspiration that new learning brings me and welcome knowledge from every source.
Most of all, I welcome feedback from my readers. You are, after all, the truest inspiration! So, keep those comments coming.
Filed under: Guest Authors Tagged: #robinmaderich, Celia Ashley, Cover Reveal, Paranormal Romance, Pump Up Your Book, PUYB, Storm Surge
December 9, 2015
Cover Reveal – Game of Shadows by Amanda Byrne
Title: Game of Shadows
Author: Amanda K. Byrne
Publisher: Lyrical Underground
Publication Date: July 5, 2016
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Format: Ebook
The girl next door just got deadly.
On the outside, Cass Turner looks like any other beautiful California college girl. But besides studying at UCLA, she’s hiding a shocking secret: she’s a highly trained assassin with multiple kills under her belt. After a year spent avoiding the family business, she takes what she hopes will be her final job and winds up saving her target’s life and getting way more than she bargained for…
As a lieutenant in LA’s largest crime family, Dominic Kosta is determined to find out who wants him dead, and he’s convinced Cass can help him. But the longer they search for the truth, the more questions arise…and the deeper their attraction grows. Nick has his own reasons for wanting to resist Cass, but it’s a losing battle. And together, they’re free of secrets and lies. Still, getting involved with Nick has put a target on Cass’ back—and in this game, it’s either kill or be killed.
About The Author
When she’s not plotting ways to sneak her latest shoe purchase past her partner, Amanda writes sexy, snarky romance and urban fantasy. She likes her heroines smart and unafraid to make mistakes, and her heroes strong enough to take them on.
If she’s not writing, she’s reading, drinking hot chocolate, and trying not to destroy her house with her newest DIY project. She lives in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, and no, it really doesn’t rain that much.
Filed under: Guest Authors Tagged: #amandakbyrne, #pumpupyourbook, Amanda K. Byrne, Cover Reveal, Game of Shadows, Pump Up Your Book, PUYB
December 8, 2015
Book Tour – Latent Image: A Xandra Carrick Thriller
Title: Latent Image: A Xandra Carrick Thriller
Author: Joshua Graham
Publisher: Redhaven Books
Pages: 437
Genre: Thriller
For fans of Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Sandra Brown, David Baldacci, Brad Thor, and Nora Roberts.
New York Times bestselling author Joshua Graham returns with a new thriller, Latent Image: A Xandra Carrick Thriller.
At the height of President Jennifer Bradley’s inaugural parade, a bomb detonates, followed by shots from a sniper’s rifle. She survives despite the numerous casualties including the Chief White House photographer. The authorities apprehend the only surviving suspect, but before they can interrogate him, he dies mysteriously while recovering in the hospital.
In an effort to hunt down those responsible and prevent future assassination attempts, Special Agent Wade Masterson of the Secret Service recruits photojournalist Xandra Carrick for a dual-role position as the President’s Photographer and clandestine assistant operative.
Xandra’s uncanny gift of second-sight through the lens of a camera thrusts her straight into the center of a deadly terrorist plot that runs far deeper than anyone in the intelligence community ever imagined.
But she may already be too late.
In a tale of vengeance, honor and sacrifice, Xandra must draw upon all she has to stop an insidious plot which threatens to bring the country to its knees with a biological weapon that will decimate the nation’s population.
For More Information
Latent Image is available at Amazon.
Pick up your copy at Barnes & Noble and Kobo.
Discuss this book at PUYB Virtual Book Club at Goodreads.
Book Excerpt:
WASHINGTON, DC
January 23
2:28PM EST
IN THE CROSSHAIRS OF THE SNIPER’S SCOPE the target shifted in and out of view. The motorcade drifted down Pennsylvania Avenue, Secret Service agents flanking its side, while Vice President Phillip Marsden and his wife Gwen waved to the cheering crowd on either side of the street behind the cold 16-gauge steel tubing of the barricades.
Neither of them was the target.
The sniper swung his scope back to the west, where the glare of the sun blinded him momentarily. He grunted, blinked and reestablished his view. The cold January wind bit at his bare fingers as he felt the trigger and anticipated the diversionary strike his partner would unleash half a block away.
Tuning out the trumpet strains of marching bands, the steady drum beats, and the crowd’s applause, he initiated a silent countdown just as Jennifer Bradley, the nation’s newly re-elected president strode past the designated spot.
…four…three…two…one…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
About the Author
JOSHUA GRAHAM is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Beyond Justice, Terminus, and Darkroom, the winner of the International Book Award, Forward National Literature Award, USA Book News Best Books Award, and host of Thriller Radio. His award-winning novel DARKROOM hit 3 bestseller lists on Amazon the night of its release.
CBS NEWS described DARKROOM as a book with “action, political intrigue and well-rounded characters…a novel that thriller fans will devour.”
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY described BEYOND JUSTICE as: “A riveting legal thriller…breaking new ground with a vengeance…demonically entertaining and surprisingly inspiring.”
Suspense Magazine listed BEYOND JUSTICE in its BEST OF 2010, alongside titles by Scott Turrow, Ted Dekker, Steven James and Brad Thor.
Many of Graham’s readers blame him for sleepless nights, arriving to work late, neglected dishes and family members, and not allowing them to put the book down.
Josh grew up in Brooklyn, NY where he lived for the better part of 30 years. He holds a Bachelor and Master’s Degree and went on to earn his doctorate from Johns Hopkins University. During his time in Maryland, he taught as a professor at Shepherd College (WV), Western Maryland College, and Columbia Union College (MD).
Today he lives with his beautiful wife and children on the West Coast.
Sign up for exclusive updates, interviews, and to be entered for giveaways by subscribing to Josh’s newsletter: www.joshua-graham.com/GIA
For More Information
Visit Joshua Graham’s websites at www.joshua-graham.com or www.joshgraham.net.
Connect with Joshua on Facebook and Twitter.
Author Interview
Joshua, thanks for being my guest today. Tell us about you
First, thanks for having me on your blog and hello to everyone out there! Something about me? I think the most curious thing about me is that I’ve worn so many different hats throughout my life. Being an author is just the latest. Aside from being a husband, a father, a follower of Jesus, and a man blessed with the greatest friends on the planet, I have worked as a professional musician, college professor, IT professional, Director of Operations in a call center, and a business owner. I received my Bachelor and Masters Degree from the Juilliard School (I’m a cellist), and my Doctorate from Johns Hopkins University.
Recently, I got into fitness with my son and because he joined his school’s cross country team, I wanted to support him and train with him. I have always hated running (I’m more into weight lifting), but he’s pushed me to run with him and to date, I’ve done a couple of 5K races with him. I never see him until the finish line and he’s been waiting at least 10 minutes for me to arrive, but I consider it a huge accomplishment for me to simply make it to the end without falling flat on my face!
What inspires you to get out of bed each day?
These days, it’s not so much inspiration as it is commitment. Each day, I get out of bed so I can get the kids ready for school and drive them there. After that it’s the gym, writing, taking care of administrative tasks for home or business, and then back to picking up the kids, taking them to sports or debate practice, etc. In short, I am committed to serving my family.
In a more broad scope, I believe that fulfilling my God-given purpose every day is what keeps me going. There are seasons in life where that is more exciting and rewarding than others, but like running a 5K, you have to keep going no matter if it’s uphill or downhill, no matter if you can sprint it, or walk it. You never quit. And in the end, completion is its own reward.
If you could hang out with one famous person for one day, who would it be and why?
Since you didn’t mention whether this person needed to be alive or not, I would say C.S. Lewis. Not only was he an amazing story teller, but the depth of his mind could only be matched by his uncanny gift for expressing the most profound ideas with the simplest words.
What’s the story behind your latest book?
What triggered the idea for the opening scene of LATENT IMAGE was watching the inaugural parade for President Barack Obama (his 2nd term). As a thriller writer, my imagination kicked in immediately. POTUS smiling and waving, Secret Service surrounding him, scanning the permiter…what a shock to the world it would be if something happened right there. That inspired the opening pages of my book.
Tell us your writing process
That’s almost like telling you about my entire digestive process—I think. Seriously, though. I used to struggle between writing organically, and by a strict outline. I have found that I can do both effectively. I start out with a macro-level outline, then fill in details. This is my initial blueprint, though I know very well that I can and will make changes as the story and character development dictates. However, it’s much better to make the changes when you have an outline because you can then go back and fill in the new details (a setup for a new payoff, for example) and not have to search your entire manuscript for where it needs to happen.
Look, if you’re building a house, you’ll want to make major changes at the blueprint level. And even if you’ve already started building, the blueprint will help you see what you can or can’t do, without scrapping the entire thing and starting from scratch.
When did you realize you wanted to be a writer?
I’ve enjoyed writing since I could do it. Loved creating stories, telling them, making people laugh, or hold their breath, or cry. But it was after the publication of my first works of fiction, when the editor invited me to his professional writers workshop that I decided, I would love to make this my full-time career, God willing.
Well, I was so blessed, and now I am a full-time writer.
Tell us about your main character:
Xandra Carrick is an award-winning photojournalist on the cusp of her third decade of life. She’s strong-willed, but really wants to do what’s right. A few books ago, she discovered that she has the extraordinary gift of second sight (precognition). In other words, she can see things about the past, present, or future through photographs she develops in the darkroom. Though she still finds keys to mysteries in the darkroom, her abilities have transcended that. She can now see visions—answers to dark secrets—without the need of her camera.
But some secrets were meant to be kept.
This of course puts her in moral and ethical dilemmas. She ends up uncovering conspiracies which put her in the crosshairs of dangerous people.
Will she step up and use her abilities? Did I mention that she’s strong-willed?
What are you working on next?
I am currently wrapping up the finale of The Führer’s Daughter with my esteemed co-author Jack Patterson. After that, more Xandra Carrick, and possibly other projects.
Do you have any special/extraordinary talents?
I have the superpower of eliciting groans from humans and pets of all ages, shapes and sizes with my puns. You could call me a PUNdit of humor. Or not.
Other than that, not really. I play the cello, and I can bench press about 360 lbs. Just not at the same time. For now.
Who are your favorite authors?
C.S. Lewis, Dean Koontz, Stephen King, James Rollins, Preston & Child, Steve Berry…the list goes on.
What do you like to do with your free time?
That’s very funny. Free time?
I sometimes watch movies, hang out with friends playing cards and eating too much dessert, go places with my family just to be together. I guess working out and running could be considered to be done on my free time, but it’s really not. It’s scheduled and an obligation for me.
Tell us about your plans for upcoming books.
I’m hoping they will all hit big bestseller lists, but that’s up to the readers out there to decide. For more information about my upcoming releases, and to receive a free ebook, and the opportunity to be entered in my monthly giveaways, please subscribe to my free newsletter here: www.joshua-graham.com/GIA
Where can people find you on the web?
I hope everyone will visit my website www.joshgraham.net
You can connect with me on facebook: www.facebook.com/j0shgraham
On twitter: www.twitter.com/J0shuaGraham
Any final thoughts?
If you have a favorite book/author, please support their efforts by recommending them to your family and friends, and leaving reviews on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads, etc.
Thanks very much!
Filed under: Guest Authors Tagged: #j0shuagraham, author interview, Joshua Graham, Latent Image, Latent Image: A Xandra Carrick Thriller, Pump Up Your Book, PUYB, PUYB Virtual Book Club, Thriller
Cover Reveal – Last Chance Season by Brenna Mills
Title: Last Chance Season
Author: Brenna Mills
Publisher: Lyrical Shine
Publication Date: July 5, 2016
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Format: Ebook
He was an outsider, taking refuge from the past. She was an adored Cape Cod local. Their summer together changed both their lives, and when they find each other again, nothing will ever be the same…
As a headstrong teenager, Zach Stanley thought spending his summer at his aunt’s Plum Harbor inn was just an escape from his troubled life back in Arizona. Little did he know he’d end up meeting the love of his life, breaking both their hearts, and never forgetting her…
Confident spitfire Ashleigh Jones has long since moved on with her life, but remembers that summer as if it was yesterday—the joy, the passion, the promises they made. In the end, she had no choice but to forget about her beach-season boyfriend, Zach…until, nearly a decade later, she finds herself on an Arizona horse ranch that he just happens to own. Their reunion is more than a fateful coincidence—it’s a bitter reminder of all Ash lost. Can Zach explain his past demons and earn her forgiveness? Or is it too late for Ash to recapture those long-ago Cape Cod days…and risk her heart on Zach once more?
About The Author
Brenna Mills lives with her college¬ sweetheart and their two dogs in a small mountain town in the Adirondacks. She spends her days petting horses’ faces, farming, hiking, camping, and traveling all around the country and the world. Brenna and her husband are slowly closing in on their goal to visit all of the fifty-nine US National Parks. She holds a MA in Higher Education from the University of Arizona and a BS in Television, Radio and Film from Syracuse University. She has worked as a college admissions counselor in Tucson, Arizona, and has run a Community Supported Agriculture program at an organic farm in Cape Cod. She loves baking pies, gardening, keeping chickens, and rooting on Cape League baseball. She is especially fond of a good closer. Visit her online at brennamillsbooks.weebly.com, or follow her on Twitter @BrennaBooks.
Filed under: Guest Authors Tagged: #BrennaBooks, #pumpupyourbook, Brenna Mills, Cover Reveal, Last Chance Season, Pump Up Your Book, PUYB
December 7, 2015
Book Tour – Sebastian Cork
About the Book
Title: Sebastian Cork
Author: Neal Davies
Genre: Thriller
Sebastian Cork – Sebastian Cork is a noted Psychologist at the pinnacle of his career, but as he fast approaches sixty he finds himself drifting and lacking enthusiasm. Things change when an unforseen event places him in the slums of the most sinister side of town in search of a killer.
Author Bio
Neal Davies- Neal Davies is a retired Family and relationship counsellor as well as an already accomplished Author. Before he began writing fiction he had written numerous self-help books focusing on communication within families and adolescents. His first fictional novel was Benworden, which is an adventure novel for family, children, and teens.
Growing up as a child Neal loved the murder mystery classics, especially
Arthur Conan Doyle’s, Sherlock Holmes. His dream of creating his own unique
character become a reality on completion of Sebastian Cork Forget Me Not and he
has already begun writing a sequel.
Links
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Sebastian-Cork-Forget-Me-Not-ebook/dp/B00X6J4QWU/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1448812335&sr=1-1&keywords=sebastian+cork
Bookpal: http://bookpal.com.au/portfolio-items/sebastian-cork/
Filed under: Guest Authors Tagged: Enchanted book promotions, Neal Davies, Sebastian Cork, Thriller
December 6, 2015
Cover Reveal – Game On by Dani Jace
Title: Game On
Author: Dani Jace
Publisher: Lyrical Press
Publication Date: June 21, 2016
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Format: Ebook
It’s time to take it to the next level.
Heath Lancaster’s happy to be on the practice squad of a professional football team, but instead of a lucky break taking him to the next level, a league-wide strike leaves him unemployed. Until he finds a new semi-pro league in Virginia Beach, where a bikini-clad hottie snags one of his passes on the beach and offers him a tour of the area . . .
A scandalous affair turned Jordan Kelly into media fodder–and in no hurry to get back into the dating game. But the easy going tight end of the new Triton’s team unleashes an inhibited wild streak in her and has her tempting him with a game of her own. But when she finds out who the owner of the Tritons is, she’s wondering if she’ll repeat her mistakes . . .
ORDER INFORMATION
Game On is available for order at
About The Author
Dani Jace enjoys writing headstrong, flip-flop casual heroines and everyday heroes who work with their hands―and other body parts. Claiming the Outer Banks of North Carolina as her second home, she includes the scenic and legendary chain of barrier islands as a setting for many of her tales. When not working on her next novel, she’s dipping her toes in the ocean, reading or checking out the newest action flick. Her husband, son and black Lab, plus her many imaginary characters make life complete.
Please visit her at danijace.com, https://www.facebook.com/dani.jace.5 or Twitter: @dani_jace.
December 3, 2015
Book Tour – YOURS TRULY, 2095
Yours Truly, 2095
by Brian Paone
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
Jeff Blue-the victim of a time-travel conspiracy-wakes up trapped in the year 2095. The only familiar face is J0; a robotic copy of the wife he left behind in 1981. But can she be trusted?
J0 could be the only key to unlock Jeff’s journey home, but it will require her to do something against her programming-something human.
During Jeff’s perilous journey through the future, he will have to discover the truth about J0’s origins, and solve the mystery behind how he wound up in 2095, in order to uncover the reality of his own destiny.
Armed with a one-way ticket to the moon, Jeff must race against the clock to seize what might be his last chance to return home to his time. A time without hover cars, Justice Computers, or TeleSkins-a time over one hundred years ago.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Book Excerpt:
The Xanadu moonliner taxied to the launch pad. I didn’t realize how terrified I was until that moment. This was really happening. I was gripping the arm-rests so tightly that my knuckles had gone ghost-white. I tried to loosen my grip, but my palms would not let go.
“How long is takeoff?” I asked in a whisper.
“About eight minutes.”
“All right. I think I can handle eight minutes.”
The Xanadu moonliner propelled us heavenward toward a frontier I could have never, in my wildest dreams, imagined I would be visiting. Takeoff was smooth and effortless. I had experienced worse turbulence when I would let Julie drive the Thunderbird back in 1981 than I did from blasting through the Earth’s atmosphere in the moonliner. During the time it took for us to get from the ground to outer space, passengers were going about their normal business just like any other commute. I slowly allowed my knuckles to regain some of their natural color.
As smooth as liftoff was, I could still tell when we broke through the exosphere. Outer space! Even though I was strapped in by my five-point harness, I immediately felt the weightlessness of my body hover slightly in my seat. Bruce made eye contact with me just long enough for him to smile. This was it. We were really going to the moon.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Brian Paone was born and raised in the Salem, Massachusetts area. An award winning author, his love of writing began through the medium of short stories at the young age of twelve. After almost 20 years of consistently writing short stories for only his friends and family to read, Brian’s first full-length novel, a personal memoir about his friendship with a rock-star drug addict entitled, “Dreams Are Unfinished Thoughts,” was published in 2007. Brian’s second novel, “Welcome to Parkview,” was published in 2010 and is a macabre journey through a cerebral-horror landscape. Brian’s latest novel, “Yours Truly, 2095,” was published in 2015 and follows a man who wakes up one morning, trapped in the future, to discover he’s been the victim of a time-travel conspiracy. Brian is married and has 3 children. Brian’s wife is an Officer in the US Navy. He is also a self-proclaimed roller coaster junkie, and his favorite color is burnt-orange.
www.facebook.com/BrianPaonesNovels
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GIVEAWAY
Brian Paone will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
Enter to win a $25 Amazon/BN GC – a Rafflecopter giveaway
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Author Interview
Brian, What inspires you to get out of bed each day?
My alarm clock, or the sound of my dog having to go pee. After that, it’s usually just trying to get the kids to the school bus stop on time. If I can do that, the day is already a “win.”
If you could hang out with one famous person for one day, who would it be and why?
Kermit the Frog. C’mon, who wouldn’t want to have a day where we go to IHOP for breakfast, then go play in Central Park for a few hours, and then maybe a light lunch at a wrap shop, and then some shopping in the afternoon, and then do a pub crawl for the next 6 hours and not stop until we are stumbling and throwing up all over the sidewalk. I think he would be soooooo funny once he got drunk. The stories…. Oh man, the stories he would start to tell. Priceless.
What’s the story behind your latest book?
One of my favorite albums of all time, is Electric Light Orchestra’s 1981 concept album, Time. Somewhere in my late teens / early twenties, I thought that the storyline of the Time album should be flushed out either as a novel or a movie. I knew, at the time, that I was nowhere NEAR talented enough yet to take on such a task as writing the adaptation of the album. After publishing two novels, one in 2007 and the other in 2010, I believed that I was ready to tackle turning the plotline and story-arc of ELO’s Time album into a full length novel. I began working on the outline in February 2012, and the first step was to take the lyrics of all 16 songs, and dissect their meaning (both literally and figuratively) and put together a cohesive linear storyline. I wanted to do what The Who’s Tommy, and Pink Floyd’s The Wall movies did for those albums… but just in novel format. The Time album has a very concrete characters and storyline (as does The Wall and Genesis’ The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway) but there is enough unsung moments in the progression of the story, that I knew I had to fill in the gaps of the lyrics with my own literary license. In the lyrics we are told, flat-out, that the main character (Jeff) is from the 1980’s and wakes up in 2095, with no idea or explanation how he got there, that there is a woman who is a perfect robotic replica of his wife (Julie) from the 80’s, he wants nothing more to return to his wife but there is some issued that need to be resolved in their marriage, that he takes a one way trip to the Moon to find his way back, and there are multiple new organizations controlling the world’s power. These are very specific lyrics that move the album forward. After pulling out the lyrics that could not be disputed, I then went through line by line and interpreted the lyrics that could be left up to the imagination of the listener of what the lyrics meant, and how I was going to make it a concrete part of my book. For instance, there is a lyric in the album that says: “Someone has broken out of Satellite Two, look very carefully it might be you!” That was pretty ambiguous inside the song, so I had to make a decision to what exactly Satellite Two even WAS, who the “someone” was, why it might be a clone of someone else… and then I had to try to make it work inside the storyline around it. The album is 16 tracks, and just shy of 50 minutes in length. The book took me almost 40 months to write because I wanted to stay as true to every single word on the album that I could.
Tell us your writing process
I’ve published 3 novels, and my typical day during the writing of each book was totally different from each other. When I was writing my first book, Dreams Are Unfinished Thoughts, I was in the middle of moving from MA to GA, changing police departments, and recording an album with my band, Transpose. So a typical day would be: get everything done first for the move, switching jobs, the recording studio, and whatever time was left at night: work on the book. We also didn’t have any kids yet.
With my second novel, Welcome to Parkview, my wife had been deployed to Djibouti and I was working full time at the police department in GA, and we had 2 kids now. So I was alone without my wife, with 2 toddlers, and working full time. The My day would be: get the kids to day-care, go work fighting crime for 8 hours, pick the kids up and do whatever household chores I had to do (laundry, cleaning, grocery shopping etc.), feed the kids dinner and put them to bed around 6:30, then I would work out for an hour, and then I would work on Welcome to Parkview after I showered until whenever I passed out at my laptop.
With Yours Truly. 2095, the Navy had sent us to Japan for the next 4 years. I had to take a leave of absence at the police department, and we moved the family there. I did not get a job right away, as my wife wanted me to be the stay at home parent during our time in Japan (I did eventually become a Criminal Justice professor for the college on base, but that’s irrelevant to the book.) We moved in November, 2011 and by January, 2012 I was itching to write. For the first time, I had the TIME to write, and not having to worry about a new job, moving, or wiping poopy diapers. So, in February, 2012, I started my outline, and writing the book was my full-time job for a while. We sent out 2 kids to Japanese Kindergarten (called a Yochien in Japan) and they were gone Monday through Friday from 9:00 to 4:00. I would bring them to the bus stop, wave goodbye, go back up into our apartment, and write until the bus brought them back. It was the first time I could write without distractions, and the first time I was writing not being dead-tired at night after putting in a full day.
Do you have any tips you can share with other authors on how to get the word out about their work?
I feel that promoting is 50% of writing a book. I constantly preach about always having a business card on you, and I suggest making bookmarks of your books to hand out to people/strangers you see reading a book in public. Have the cover art with the book synopsis on the front and places where they can get a cop on the back. Use the bookmark like a business card for that specific book… a business card the person won’t likely throw out when they get home because it’s actually something useful. And every time they open the book they are reading, YOUR book will be looking at them. Its continuous advertising.
When did you realize you wanted to be a writer?
In the 7th I wrote my first fictional short story called, “The Night is Long.” It wasn’t part of some homework assignment, or in-class exercise. I wrote the story over the weekend, purely because I loved to read and wanted to write something that was my own. After that, I never stopped writing. However I only wrote short stories from 1988 to 2005. It was then that I began work on my first novel. My career as a novelist would never have happened, or at least to the success that I have had, if one of my best friends hadn’t died in 2005. My friend David, who was the lead singer of the industrial-rock band God Lives Underwater who enjoyed some commercial success in the 90s, had been struggling with drug addiction, depression, and the throes of the music business since I met him in 1995. We became fast friends, and I was one of the few people who stuck with him through all his highs and lows. When he passed away in 2005, I didn’t know where the put my grief. I just couldn’t find a healthy outlet for how I was feeling about losing him. It was suggested to me to write a memoir about our friendship, but in novel format so it read more like a story than a journal. My wife was the biggest advocate of me using my grief to write my first novel, and recant all the good and bad times that come with being close to someone who struggles with addiction, and someone who was on major tours, on MTV, and all over the radio. He was a multi-dimensional person, and our friendship was trying and rewarding all at the same time. I started writing what would eventually become my first novel, Dreams Are Unfinished Thoughts, in January 2006 and it was published in October, 2007—on the second anniversary of his death. The book sold above and beyond anyone’s expectations, and that’s how I stopped writing short stories and focused on writing novels.
Tell us about your main character:
Jeff Blue. His marriage is failing, his daughter was killed in a wreck, he’s an alcoholic, and pretty much just clinging on to life. Until he wakes up 114 years in the future to find out he’s married to a robot, and that he’s part of a huge time travel conspiracy. He’s kind of a jerk, and very self-centered. But when the façade starts to fall, he has a huge heart and its hard not to start to cheer for him by the end.
What are you working on next?
I will begin outlining my 4th book in a few months. Tentatively untitled, it’s going to be a comedic-military novel, almost in the style of the film Mom with Michael Keaton. This will be about the true adventures I had when my wife, who is an Officer in the Navy, left me alone with our two toddlers when she got deployed for 8 months, and the learning curve and craziness that ensued during those months. I’m hoping to have a 2017 release schedule for that.
Do you have any special/extraordinary talents?
I feel that nothing comes naturally or easy for me. Everything I know, or all the talents I have, I had to struggle to learn… where so many people, things just come to them.
Who are your favorite authors?
Stephen King, Clive Barker, Ernest Hemingway, Sylvia Plath, Jean Auel
What do you like to do with your free time?
I’m a rabid football fan (go Patriots!), I’m a self-proclaimed roller coaster junkie, I love music (I’ve been in bands myself for 20 years), watch movies, and spend time with my wife and 3 kids.
Tell us about your plans for upcoming books.
Well after the Military Deployment Book I’m working on next, I have another idea for a novel about a female singer/songwriter that travels across the country looking for the ultimate open mic night gig, and all the stuff that happens along the way. Oh, and she may or may not fall in love with a man who has a boyfriend. And then after that, I think I’m going to take all of my uncollected short stories I’ve written over the past few years, and publish my first short story collection.
Where can people find you on the web?
BrianPaone.com
Facebook.com/BrianPaonesNovels
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbJkUkHDsDUcjmWufcH90kQ
@PaoneBrian
Any final thoughts?
Yours Truly, 2095 might be inspired and based on a concept album from the 80s, but it is every bit my own creation as it is developed from those lyrics. Even though it is a time-travel story on the surface, I believe that it is a romance novel about a couple’s redemption at its core. The book may take place in the distance future, but all the conflicts are struggles that we deal with in our relationships in our everyday lives in the here and now. I believe that this book can be enjoyed just as equally by fans of straight up science-fiction time-travel stories, as well as fans of romance mysteries. The science-fiction jargon is not crammed in your face, nor is the romance angle shoved down your throat either. It’s a nice blend of both, allowing the story to ebb and flow on its own, as Jeff slowly figures out what is truth and what is a lie.
Filed under: Guest Authors Tagged: @PaoneBrian, author interview, author promo tips, Brian Paone, Electric Light Orchestra, Goddess Fish Promotions, guest author, Kermit the Frog, YOURS TRULY 2095
Book Tour ~ The Tree of Life
Title: The Tree of Life
Author: Dawn Davis
Publisher: Friesen Press
Pages: 304
Genre: Historical Fiction
Two accidental time travelers explore Canada in 1939 in THE TREE OF LIFE, the first installment in the Tower Room series by Dawn Davis.
As THE TREE OF LIFE opens, Charlotte Hansen and her friend, Henry Jacobs, are hanging out in the old mansion where Charlotte and Leo, her grandfather, live. Henry is there to practice the piano, and Charlotte is waiting for him to finish so that she can supervise his work on a massive school project researching the 1930s. When Leo leaves the house to pick up his friend Gwendolyn Fenton—whom Charlotte does not like—the two eleven-year-olds prepare tea and cookies for the grown-ups’ visit and then rush to the Tower Room. The room is located on the top floor of the mansion. Charlotte is not allowed in the room without permission; but she is headstrong and ignores the directive. After leaving the tray of tea and sweets on the tabletop, Charlotte pulls Henry underneath the table with her.
The children soon hear Gwendolyn telling Leo about a magical brooch from her childhood. Suddenly, a large hand grabs Charlotte, who clutches Henry tightly before the hand thrusts the pair into nothingness. After Charlotte regains consciousness, she and Henry meet the younger version of Gwendolyn, a spoiled force of nature determined to appropriate the brooch her late mother left her brother. The friends learn that they are still in Rose Park, the neighborhood they both call home, but the year is 1939.
As Charlotte and Henry realize that they have traveled backward to move forward, the purpose of their time travel is revealed: Charlotte is there to help Gwendolyn resolve the pain of her past. During the adventure, Henry advocates against the anti-Semitism and racism of that time, and Charlotte learns to look beyond her own desires to help a person in need.
The idea for THE TREE OF LIFE and the Tower Room series came to the author after she attended a centennial celebration at her daughters’ school. “What might happen,” Davis thought, “if two children lived their research instead of simply reading about it? This one step outside the restrictions of time became the foundation for the series.”
As in THE TREE OF LIFE, the next three books will highlight different time periods in Canadian history, with the one constant being the appearance of Charlotte and Henry. Although the children will appear in each book with different names and bodies, they will be easily recognizable as eternal soul mates, and the harbingers of love and connection for those who have stumbled and lost their way.
For More Information
• The Tree of Life is available at Amazon.
• Pick up your copy at Barnes & Noble.
• Discuss this book at PUYB Virtual Book Club at Goodreads.
Book Excerpt:
They needed to work on our outfits for school on Monday.
There was to be a parade in the playground, a decade fashion show parade. Since most of the parents refused to scour the bins at Good Will for appropriate clothing, Henry and Charlotte were the only ones so far who had volunteered. Technically Henry did not volunteer. Charlotte signed his name in invisible ink and was planning on informing him later this afternoon. She would tell Henry that he would get special marks for being in the parade (a lie) because Henry was motivated only by marks. Their grades were already as high as they could go, mostly for bringing in a lot of old junk from Charlotte’s great aunt Dilys’s decaying trunks; printed spun rayon dresses, white nubuck open-toed Cuban-heeled shoes, step-by-step instructions on how to pluck out all your eyebrow hair and draw on fake eyebrows that had a larger arch, one of the first ballpoint pens ever made (1938), a picture of a chesterfield suite in mohair that cost $1.95 at the Adams Trade-in Store Special, and a spring hat with a lilac ribbon purchased at Fairweathers for $2.00 and still in the bag. In reviewing her list, Charlotte found one item to be extremely interesting. In the 1930s, a hat cost more than a chesterfield.
It irked Charlotte that she needed to refer to her lists to remember how many items she had collected because Henry never needed this crutch. He could recite any list, any page of a book, any tiny print on a newspaper, even if he had only seen it once and for less than a second.
That’s because Henry had a condition called eidetic memory bog.
A bog is a swamp, a very damp place where unpleasant things grow and multiply. This was Charlotte’s way of describing the interior of Henry’s skull.
Eidetic memory: an article in a newspaper, a children’s story, musical notes from dingy old manuscripts, the script on a Chinese menu, junk mail forced through the mail slot, recipes, etc. etc. misc., all absorbed, imprinted, collated and filed away for future reference, word perfect. Although Henry denied it, Charlotte believed he had this disease because of his permanently crossed eyes. Therefore his brain was unable to process information the way the brain of a normal person (like Charlotte’s) did by sucking up facts through perfectly aligned eyeballs and expelling it all through the very same portals. Henry’s out-take portals were plugged by all the surgeries he had when he was a toddler, and Charlotte feared that someday Henry’s brain might explode from all the useless information he could not eliminate.
A handful of people knew he had this illness, and Henry utilized it sparingly.
“Because I appear to be blind, I overcompensate by having an unusual ability to retain data that may or may not be useful in the world at large,” Henry once told Charlotte. “Is that so unusual?”
Of course she immediately had to set him a test.
Henry was lounging around on Charlotte’s bed, breathing her air and staring at her ceiling and moving his lips in a really annoying way so she said: “Let me show you something.”
He ignored her for a while but finally cranked his head over to where Charlotte was stitching together a hole in the leg of one of her stuffed animals.
“What?”
She dropped the dog and held the World Book up to his face.
“Look at this.” She pointed to the section on German wirehaired pointers. She let Henry look at the article for three seconds and then she whisked the book away and sat cross-legged on the end of her bed because Henry was taking up all the middle space.
“What about it?” he asked.
“What kind of dog is a German wirehaired pointer?” Charlotte asked.
“A hunting dog,” he replied immediately.
“How did it come to be?”
“It’s a cross-breed which means the dog was developed by breeding a German short haired pointer with a poodle pointer.”
“And how much does it weigh?”
“About twenty-five kilos.”
“Does it like having its ears scratched?”
Silence.
“How many times a day do you have to take it out for a walk?”
Silence.
“What do you do if the dog howls in the middle of the night?”
Angry silence.
“How long does it take the average German short haired pointer to devour a bowl of food, and what happens if one freshly cooked pea is buried in the midst of its food?”
Confused silence.
“What good does it do you to be able to memorize this anyway?”
Superior silence.
“Facts are meaningless,” she said. “Experience is everything.”
“Shut up,” Henry said. “There is only one fact that is significant. I blend in. I get along just fine.”
In fact, Henry did not get along just fine, and if it weren’t for Charlotte, he never would have survived at Rose Park Public School.
For some reason the mere presence of Henry on the playground at school annoyed a few of the boys in the grade five class, the ones who weren’t very bright—Tyler MacKenzie in particular. Tyler invented a few colourful names which he felt best described Henry’s exterior; cross-eyed creep, frogman, slimebucket, and monster boy were a few of the favourites. These insults usually bounced off Henry, drifting into the air like soap bubbles, which then quietly burst, leaving Henry unharmed. He didn’t seem to hear the words directed at him. But once Henry made the mistake of getting in Tyler’s way. He was standing at the southern end of the playground reading a book he had projected onto the wall of the school, the same brick wall Tyler and his friends were using to see who could slam a baseball the hardest.
Henry didn’t know he was in the way because he was not present to the reality of the moment.
He returned abruptly when Tyler stood before him, blocking his view of the wall.
“Hey, slimebucket, we’re playing a game here. Move.”
Henry didn’t.
“Or maybe we could use you as a target and just aim for your nose.” Tyler touched Henry’s nose lightly with his fingertips. “That would be easier to hit than the wall.”
Henry brushed aside the grubby fingertips and stared straight at Tyler.
“Smell,” he said, “is stored in the limbic area of the brain.” His voice was measured and precise. “That’s why whenever I smell dog shit, I think of you…”
“In fact, all our memories and emotions are stored in the limbic area,” Henry told Charlotte five minutes later as they were both hurried off to the nurse’s office. Charlotte got an elbow in her eye trying to defend Henry whose upper lip had been cut right open.
He continued to talk as blood pooled in his mouth.
“The emotional content we all have stockpiled is extremely personal,” he said matter-of-factly, shifting the ice pack from the staffroom freezer to spit in the yogurt jar from the daycare centre. “And everything we possess inside here,” he said, tapping his forehead with three fingers, “is warehoused instantly with no conscious intervention on our part at all.”
So much for blending in.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
About the Author
Dawn Davis is a writer living and working in Toronto, Canada. Before becoming a writer, Davis worked as a teacher after completing her education at York University and the University of Toronto.
The Tree of Life is Davis’s debut novel, and the first book in her Tower Room series.
For More Information
Visit Dawn Davis’ website.
Connect with Dawn on Facebook.
Visit Dawn’s blog.
Author Interview
Dawn, thanks for being here today. Tell us about you.
I have passed through the tumultuous stages of infancy, childhood, teens, university, career, marriage, children, family commitments and I now find in the later part of my life a freedom I never had the time to experience when I was younger. My days are now my own and I am a part-time student again, studying jazz and classical piano and ballroom dancing for the love of it. I was born in Barrington, Illinois, attended New York University for two years and moved to Toronto at age 19 with the intention of staying for a year or so. Instead I returned to school in Toronto, began to teach, married, had a family and never went back. Toronto has been my home for over 40 years. I love the city, the people, the food, the ravine, and the vibrant artistic community.
What inspires you to get out of bed each day?
At some point in the early morning my Maine Coon kitten Charlie decides she needs to have her ears, neck and head scratched and flops down on my head. By the time I move her and minister to her needs I am wide-awake and in need of a cup of coffee. I wander downstairs and realize I forgot to take the garbage out the night before. Other small tasks present themselves and before I know it I am fully immersed in the business of the day.
If you could hang out with one famous person for one day, who would it be and why?
I would love to spend a day with Bill Evans although he is no longer alive and such a meeting is near impossible. To watch his fingers on the keyboard, to see him bent over in concentration, to hear him play “I Loves You Porgy” and improvise would be such a great gift. It is not necessary that Bill acknowledge my presence. To sit where I can see him and hear him play is more than enough.
What’s the story behind your latest book?
Two eleven year old children living in downtown Toronto in 1999 are thrust back in time to their own neighborhood 60 years earlier. They soon discover cannot go home until they accomplish a task. They arrive not knowing what the task is or why they have been transported but they recognize immediately that this Toronto is a different city than the one they inhabit, and the threat of another world war is imminent.
Tell us your writing process
I jot down ideas when they come to me and always carry a notebook in my purse. Mostly I hear conversations in my head and I respond by listening. The outline of the book or story appears slowly and when I begin to write I do it very freely to get to know my characters. My first draft is a mess and very difficult to straighten out. This is when the thought: “Why am I doing this?” first appears and it is a struggle to ignore it and carry on.
When did you realize you wanted to be a writer?
Writing took hold of me when I was very young and it never let go. It is similar to playing the piano – how can this body and mind produce something so intangible and why on earth does it want to? I have no answer for that except to say that writing takes me, for a while, into a different state of consciousness.
Tell us about your main character:
Charlotte Hansen lives with her grandfather in a crumbling old mansion in downtown Toronto. Her parents died when she was two and Leo is her only family. She is headstrong and inventive but very much a loner since her personality can be abrasive. Her one friend is Henry Jacobs who is near blind and suffers from a condition that Charlotte calls “eidetic memory bog”. Charlotte involves Henry, much against his will, in many dangerous enterprises and when the two journey back in time to 1939 Toronto they find themselves involved in a family crisis and a city on the verge of war.
What are you working on next?
I am working on another time travel book in this series, the departure point the same Tower Room that propelled Charlotte and Henry back in time. This story will be set in Toronto during the 1980’s and in Queeston, Ontario during the War of 1812. The book highlights what happens to Leo, Charlotte’s grandfather, on his first time travel adventure. Charlotte and Henry will also be present. This series looks at the “different bodies/same souls” theory – if such a theory is true, isn’t it reasonable to assume we are always travelling with the people we love and learning lessons which might help us in future lives?
Do you have any special/extraordinary talents?
I like to bake and play the piano. I’m not sure they are talents so much as necessities of existence.
Who are your favorite authors?
Top five? Kurt Vonnegut, Anne Tyler, Kate Atkinson, John Mortimer, Mordecai Richler
What do you like to do with your free time?
I like to walk, read, dance and sleep.
Tell us about your plans for upcoming books.
I hope to write three more books in the Tower Room series highlighting the travels of Charlotte’s family. I also write comedy sketches and will continue to do this.
Any final thoughts?
I always learn something new about myself when I fill out one of these questionnaires. I am grateful for the opportunity. Thank you.
Filed under: Guest Authors Tagged: author interview, Book Excerpt, Dawn Davis, Historical Fiction, Pump Up Your Book, PUYB, PUYB Virtual Book Club, The Tree Of Life, time traveler, Tower Room series
